This week’s species of the week is the Northern Map Turtle! These turtles get their name from the lines that make up a map-like pattern on their shell. If you’re in the park, you might get to see one basking on a log in Hogg Bay or bobbing along in the water. Once female Map Turtles reach the age of 10, they lay one clutch of 10-17 eggs each year. Since they are a species at risk, along with other Ontario turtles, the Friends protect any nest they see in the park until fall when the eggs are ready to hatch. It’s not an easy life for hatchlings. They are preyed on by raccoons, coyotes, and birds of prey and threatened by road mortality and habitat loss.
